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AT THE 



MITHRAS LODGE OF SORROW. 



WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 10, 1881, 



IX MEMORY OK 



JAMES A. GARFIELD, 



BY THE 



Hon. GEO. B. LORING, 



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JUL 



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1>i;i:tiii!i:n : 

We are assenililril here- to [)ay an affectionate tribute to the memory 
oi' one of the most illustrious of our order, whose career as citizen, soldier, 
legislator, magistrate, will always be revered and cherished wherever the 
hearts o!" men are l)ound together in this holy brotherhood, and so long 
as truth. " uncliangeable and everlasting," shall endure. While to all 
the world he now stands as a type of heroism, fortitude. Christian devo- 
tion, patriotism, and civil wisdom and justice, to us he belongs to that 
immortal group who stepped forth to their great labors strengthened ])y 
the lessons of the lodge — Washington; Warren, Lafayette, Lee, Putman, 
Steuben, Caswell and Sullivan, whose powers on the field and in council 
gave us our fi-eedom and the Republic, and whose greatness found its 
secure foundations on the Masonic precepts: "Be good; be just; be 
indulgent; be kind; be grateful; be modest; pardon injuries; render 
good for evil; be forbearing and temperate; be a citizen ; defend thy 
country with thy life." 

Guided l)y these precepts, President Garfield achieved his greatness. 
His mind was, indeed, powerful and capacious, but it was the genuine 
kindness of his heart, his deep sympathy with mankind, his instinctive 
fellowship with sincerity, which gave him his intellectual enthusiasm 
and his mental force. His impulses were great, earnest, simj'jle, unosten- 
tatious. His youthful ambition was guided by purity of purpose and 
by substantial, dignified, worthy desires. Born in the humblest station 
in life, he began early to bear his share of the burdens which rested 
uj^on his lowly home. His is the old story of devotion to his mother, 
self-sacrifice for his familj^ love of books, a religious sentiment and 
faith, serious determination, cheerful and untiring effort, abounding 
sense, which have marked so many of the sons of that hardy and de- 
voted race whose Puritan defiance established, and whose Puritan faith 
inspired, the institutions under which we live, and which have charac- 
terized so many of those who in our own land have reached high dis- 
tinction. 

The first of his name in this country led a life of hard toil and rigid 
economy, was a brave soldier and a reliable civilian, and, through all the 
generations which lie between him and his illustrious descendant, his 
sturdy virtues have been ])reserved,' never enervate<l l)y undue ])rosper- 
ity nor quenched by severe adversity. Down all those years there was 



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a Steady flow of American inanliness. Was? there a popular demand for 
rijrlits and a popular ])rutest agains^t wrongs^, the voice of a Garfield was 
heard in the colonial nudtitudc, Wat* there a stand airainst oppression 
and tyranny, the musket of a (larlicld hlazed in the line of the patriotic 
soldiery. Was there a frontier enti'rprise oriranizetl for the extension of 
civilization, the strong arm of a Garfield wielded his axe and the strong 
will of a (Jartii'ld gave courage to his (•(iiii|)anions in the bold and adven- 
turous work. Xot as high coninianders, not clothed with supreme au- 
thority, not controlling great possessions, hut as faithful and resolute 
workers in every civil organization and every material etiort. this family 
performed its constant and valuahle service. The faculties which made 
t'.iem uselul in thi' early days of the Hepuldic made their great sou power- 
ful ill our own. And so purely and entirely were these faculties jireserved 
that had tlu' course of the years heiu revt^rsed, and he whom the world 
now mourns had lueu horn to the trials and duties of his fir.st ancestor 
on these shores, he wnuhl ha\'e heen the same coloi\ial Puritan, soldier, 
citizen, magistrate, l\)s.>*ts8ed of liis ancestral virtues and powers in all 
their fonv and vigor, he endured with courage and fortitude the priva- 
tions of a frontier life. He reached out for every means of education. 
He clung with undying affection to those who shared his huml>le home, 
lie knew no discouragement and was m-ver disheartened hy obstacles 
in the ]tath which he ])Ursued. not because it hd to glory, hut be- 
cause it was his path of duty. The valor displayed by his ancestor at 
Concord he dis})laye(l at Chickamauga. Tlu" patience which enal)led 
his fathers to endure the hardships of the log cabin in New England, en- 
abled him, at a later day. to endure the hardships of a log caliin in the 
nt'wly settled and half exi)lored Ohio, The manly independence which 
lifted them above tlu^ accidents of life, and lilK d their luunble ilwellings 
with the beauty ot' liiL:li mental ami moral <(ualitii's. and the more radi- 
ant beauty of religious faith, gave him that superiority which is every- 
where felt, an<l which is never secured by the fovors of fortune. We 
have i)roduced many great men in the two centuries and a half which 
have passed away since our fathers landeil on these shores — in the cen- 
tury which marks the age of our Kepulilic — many families whose lives 
have been illustrious; Init to Garfield alone of them all was it given to 
apply to the highest f^ervice of his country the .strong ([ualities which had 
marked his ancestors through many manly, though inconspicuous gen- 
erations. It was, un(loubtedly,aconsciousnessof this which gave him his 
entire sim]ilieity in all his greatness; for he was the simi)lest as well as 
one oftlu-gn-atest of all our great men. Through all the reuKU-kable ex- 
perienci'sof his life, through all his official di.><tinction, and all the brilli- 
ancy of stat<" to which he rose, he never forgot the t-harms of his youthful 
days. There was always ;i warm |>l,ice in his heart for the school-house 
liuilt on land iriven by his mother, and tor his first teacher, "a young 



man Iroiu Now Hampshire." No authors, however great, ever <lisi>laced 
his early friends, Weems and Grimshaw. No books, however i)rofoimd, 
ever drew liis affection away from "Robinson Crusoe" and " Alonzo and 
Melissa." His experieace in tlie shop of tlie carpenter aixl along the 
tow-i)ath of the canal, thr(nigh all his life had a halo about it as an ear- 
nest labor, not for hhnself alone, but for those he loved. His life in the 
first school lie attended, in the first scliool he taught, in his preparation for 
college, in his course at Hiram, had a touching side to it, not on account 
of his poverty alone, for most of his companions were as poor as he, but 
from tlie sincerity and earnestness of his purpose, from liis religious con- 
fidence, from his forgetfulness of all comforts, and even necessities, before 
the imperious demands of his powerful mind, from his entire faith in the 
two declared objects of his college : — 1. " To i)rovide a sound, scientific 
and literary education, and 2. To temper and sweeten such education 
with moral and scriptural knowledge." 

Moulded by these influences, his mind rose superior to external wants 
and received a guiding force which led to great mental power and ac- 
complishment, and gave a sacred value to the circumstances about him. 
Into all this work his heart entered so dee})ly that its incidents were 
never forgotten. Its influence was never lost. Balancing in his mind 
which college to choose for the completion of his collegiate education, 
he selected Williams, because President Hoi)kins wrote to him, " If you 
come here we shall be glad to do what we can for you," a sentence which 
he said " seems to be a kind of friendly grasp of the hand;" and as he 
entered ui>()n his studies, with "an open, kindly and thoughtful face, 
which showed no traces of ]iis long struggle with poverty and i>riva- 
tion," marching triumphantly througli the classics and modern langu- 
ages, he bec:nne the representative of everything gentle, generous, noble, 
genuine, and was, as President Hopkins tells us, "prom})t, frank, manly, 
social in his tendencies," his great mind guiding and his great heart 
sympathizing with all the best tastes and social customs of the students 
and those about him. " To my mind," said he, "the whole catalogue 
of fashionable friendships and polite intimacies is not worth one honest 
tear of sympathy or one heartfelt emotion of true friendship." Over all 
his early life, especially over' all his educational period, he stretched 
such a heaven of sincerity and love that to his dying day it was the 
great object of his dearest remembrance, the source of his strongest im- 
pulses, the sweet influence which tempered his whole being. For all 
this, he had a deep sentiment, whose purity and simplicity were undy- 
ing. To his classmates avIio met him on the evening before his inaugu- 
ration, he said : " To me there is something exceedingly pathetic in tliis 
reunion. In every eye before me I see the light of friendship and love, 
and I am sure it is reflected ))ack to vac]) one of you from my inmost 
heart." No oflicial grandeur, no political success ever outshone the 



strontf and heavenly lij^ht which hmke upon liis youth and eaiiv nian- 
liood. The companions of his days of toil and trial were never for- 
gotten. That hahit of Kiniplicity which made him essentially a social 
heing led him to adhere with vital tenacity to those who stood hy him 
in his labors. " Rememlier me kindly to the old house." said he to a 
friend and lej:islative companion wlio saw him the day after lie was 
shot, and Ids warm heart rallied all his stricken powers to send forth 
the kindly messaji;e from that bed of agony and death. I could see the 
memories of his old rural home and occui)ation, and of his lields at 
Mentor, warming his words as he expressed to me the deep interest he 
felt in the dej>artment to whicii he called me, and his earnest desire for 
its j)rosperity and development. 

Against the simidicity of his religious faith. int(» uliicli lie was hap- 
tisetl in his youtii. and whii-h he advocated with great fervor and eh >- 
<|uence in ins early manhood, neither the well defined dt»gmas of the 
college nor the attractive customs of the Capital could ever prevail. It 
seemed as if the sjjirit of (4arfield"s youth never forsook him. Even 
hardship and trial could not hedini those l»right plains which' he had 
clothed in the sunlight of his own radiant nature. 

"I've wandered East; I've wandered West. 

Through many a weary day; 
But never, never can forget 

The love of life's young day." 

It was this sjnrit that made him so dear to all people, and which 
enabled him so to set aside the conventionalities of life, even <tn the 
most stately occasions, that the sweetest humanity warmed toward him. 
and thanked (iod that he was a son, a husband and a father, as well as 
a soldier and statesman. 

Tiie pul)lic life of President (Garfield extended ovei- one <jf the most re- 
markable jjcriods of our history — second, perhai)s, not even to the great 
]»eriod of the Revolutionary war. He commenced Ids career in ISoO as 
a young orator in a cause which was arresting tlie attention of the ]»ro- 
foundest thinkers in the country, and whicli resulted in one of the great 
social and civil changes of modern times. As a meml)er of the Ohio 
Senate lie won at once a high reputation for his fearless advocacy; for 
"that simple, allcetionate way which i-liaian> |ic()plc:"' tor his strong de- 
votion to tlie eihieatioiial work of his .State, and toi- Ids studious j»repar- 
atioii for the legislative del)ate, in which he was always ready to take a 
part, lie was distinguished then, as he was through life, and on tliat 
hirger legislative Held where he exerted so much intluenee and won so 
great renown, for his discriminating judgment even in an hour of intense 
passion, {vpd for his courtesy iveii in the most heated debate. Tlie power 
of his argument was recognized by ;ill who heard him: and his skillful 
ardent and sententious statements gave him LMcat iidluenee as a legislator 
and risin;: statesman. His inlluenee on those about him was innnense. 



As the crash of war caiiu', his counsel was broad, energetic, comprelien- 
sive ; his action was jirompt, vigorous and efK'ective. There were tliose, 
it is true, who sprang to Ihe front nioi'e nimbly than he, but there wa's no 
one who tVoni the tirsi moment rencU'red Ins state and liis countrv niori' 
devoted service. To his mind his own interests wei'e always secondary. 
Only alter the most profound and religious consideration of his fitness 
and capacity did he accc])t the connuand offered him, and only after the 
most diligent and studious prt'pnration did he undertake tiie (hities 
which devolved ui)on him. I*'rom December 14, 1861, when he enterd 
the field with his regiment, to I)eeeml)er o, lS()o, wlien he resigned his 
commission as major-general, he displayed all the (|ualities of vigilance, 
courage and rapidity of execution whidi mark the successful s<ildierand 
the philosophical judgment wdiich marks the successful civilian. In his 
service in the Army.it was said of him: "The bent of his nnnd was 
aggressive; his judgment in military matters was always good. His 
papers on the Tullahoma campaign will stand a monument of his courage 
and his far-reaching soldierly sagacity, and his conduct at Chickamauga 
will never be forgotton ])y a nation of brave men." 

^^'hen General Garfield left the Army and took his place on the floor 
of Congress as a Representative from the State of Ohio, he entered upon 
as remarka1)le a legislative career as has ever been recorded in our his- 
tory. I caimot discuss here the measures in the consideration and pas- 
sage of which he performetl an important pai't. Nor is that necessary. 
But we must remember that during the seventeen years of his service as 
a member of the House our country passed through the closing years of 
war, and aiaived at a solution of nearly every important question in- 
volved in the adjustments of peace. In this long career as a legislator, 
which constitutes General Garfield's important civil service, vmtil he was 
elected President, we shall find the same intellectual fervor, the same 
conscientious desire for equal and exact justice, the same comprehen- 
sive judgment and the same confidence in a cultivated and educated 
popular sense as had marked his early career in an humbler sphere. As 
a member of the Committee on jVIilitary Affairs and of the Committee 
on Ways and Means he did invaluable service. In the debates in the 
House on all important questions he took a foremost ijart. There are 
recorded of him no sharp and bitter altercations, none of those brilliant 
]iassages at arms which excite and fascinate, but he appears always as 
the eloquent advocate of sound and manly and liberal views, and of 
those doctrines upon which he honestly believed the honor and safety 
of the countrv should rest. Now that he has gone from among us, is 
there anyone who Avould ask that his views might be modified, or who 
does not admire the earnestness and power and foresight with which he 
took his stand and presented his opinions? His \dews upon the restora- 
tion of the States, upon the public del)t and specie payments, upon the 



National Bureau of Education, on the riglit to originate revenue bills, on 
the civil and military power of the (ioveniment, on the tiirift', liave now 
passed into history. On many of these questions the result is finally 
determined. Of others the solution is sti-adily working out in the 
liands of a united, industrious, educated, pr()S}jerous iiuoplc Is there a 
man among us who does not recognize the wisdom and fairness of him 
wlio has left his words for our councils and his great life for our guid- 
ance? Is thrrc an o})i)onent even who does not appreciate the motives 
and admire the consistency wliich marked his career from the day 
when he entered the Senate of Oliio to the close of his career as a mem- 
l)er of the Federal Congress ? He has left behind him many a generous 
sentiment, many a humane doctrine, many a sound utterance upon 
wluch this country can advance to entire frat^'niity of feeling, and to 
still fuilher progress in popular education and national prosperity. 

( )1' liis manner in debate there are those of us who eau never forget his 
commanding })resenee in tlie House. As the discussion of importiint 
([Uestions went on, it is indeed true of him that 

" With grave 
Aspect he rose, and in his rising seemed 
A pillar of state." 

Ili.s manifest sincerity, his evident i)reparation, his earnest manner, his 
strong an<l fervid diction arrested the attention of all who were within 
the sound of liis {)owerful voice, modulated at times on the tones of the 
most solenm exhortation. 

And now, brethren, wlien wc survey the (pialities ot" mind and heart 
whicli cliaracterizcd our iUustrious brother, and which I have liastily 
portrayeil tbr your respect and adiniratiou. how can wi- wonder for a mo- 
ment at t\iv ileepand earnest sympatixy manifested for him an<l liis peo- 
])k' at the tragic closing of his great life ? The jtopular feeling tlirougli-" 
out the world was moved for liim whose heart beat always in unison 
with the ])opular heart. Evi'iy mother felt tiie agony of her wlio saw 
the S(jn upon whom she had so long learned to lean confidently for sup- 
port in her old age, the son of her pride and love, slowly and ])ainfully 
passing away. The lieart of every wife wejit for lur wlio l>ravily bore 
her sorrow as the weary hours passed by which were bearing the noble 
object of her life-long love, the com])anion of all her years of toil, l^eyond 
the great consununation of his life in this world to the greater and nntre 
glorious consummation of the life which is to come. Suddenly this 
human existence, which I have i-ndeavored to di'.^cribe to you, became 
cons])icuous, and so clear and radiant Avas it in its conspicuity. that day 
by day during the long and weary sumiiirr. men evciywluit,' learned 
patience and courage and heroism of him, wi-re taught the simplicity 
and grandeur oi' a truly great life, shared his agony, jtrayed for his re- 



covery, and, as they rose each day to gather new hope and assurance, 
said one to another, surely this great man 

Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been 
So clear in his great oflfice, that his virtues 
Will plead like angels, trumpct-tongued, against 
The deep damnation of his taking-off. 

I need not remind you that in all his life he accepted the emhlems of 
our order, significant of deep religion, liigh morality and well organized 
and well rewarded toil — of faitliful labor and just compensation — of 
strength of iKirpose, rectitude, equality, brotherly love — the keystone of 
the arcb, the i)luiiil), the level, the trowel — the pot of incense as the 
emblem of a pure heart. As we plant the rosemary and the cassia on 
his grave, we may thank God for the rich record he has given us, and 
for the example he has left to all who would serve their country faith- 
fully and bravely, and in accordance with the best doctrines upon which 
the American people can develop and perpetuate the Government be- 
queathed to them by the fathers. 



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